Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif chaired the 11th meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Energy at the PM House here today.

The Committee was briefed about the progress made so far on two power plants of 660 MW each in Jamshoro. Financial arrangements have been made and the project will be undertaken after international competitive bidding, the Committee was informed.

The Prime Minister directed that timelines of the project should be fast-tracked so that 1320 MW electricity is added to the national grid as soon as possible. He asked for forming a project implementation unit for executing the work in the shortest possible time and try to complete the project by the beginning of 2018.

The Committee decided to review the modalities of cost recovery like joint venture and equity participation with Railway Freight Corporation.

The Committee also reviewed progress on 3600 MW LNG based power plants, which was presented by Secretary Water and Power, Mr. Younus Dhaga. The project would be financed through PSDP. Petroleum Ministry updated the Prime Minister on the progress made on this project since the last meeting of the Committee.

The Prime Minister directed that the project be completed by February 2017.

The Prime Minister said that load shedding in summers should not be more than 6 hours in cities and 8 hours in the rural areas.

The Committee was informed that by summer more than 1500 MW more electricity will be available in the system as compared to same time last year. This includes 750 MW through Guddu, 425 MW through Nandipur, 150 MW through wind power and 100 MW through solar energy.
The Prime Minister emphasized that measures should be taken for the conservation of electricity in the country.